Next Best
by TunaForDesert
Summary: People say when you have a second choice, you go for it. It takes one Japanese boy with cute yellow post-it notes and sky blue eyes for him to move on. (BOO spoilers starting from Chapter 2.)
1. Chapter 1

It was just one work after another. While he was busy searching for the wayward son of Poseidon, his father just had to send him to Japan for a measly errand. His job was done, and now he was standing on top of the Tokyo Tower to calm his mind. He knew he would never abandon Percy Jackson, but part of him almost wanted to, if only to spite him and left him in misery after all the pain he put him through.

He could not lie to himself, however. He was worried out of his mind for Percy. He wanted to see him safe. He could even endure seeing him back in the arms of his girlfriend, as long as he was alright. Of course, it was always easier said than done. He hadn't return to Camp Half-Blood since the news of Percy's disappearance reached him. There was nobody to return to. Jason was there, which doubled the reason why he could not show himself yet. He just wished nobody was talkative enough to mention the name of the only son of Hades.

He needed a place to crash tonight.

He shadow traveled to the nearest residential area. If he was lucky, he would find an empty house. His stomach growled. Right. Dinner. Damn time difference.

For the next fifteen minutes, he looked for a McDonald place. And to his immense annoyance, he could not find one. Perhaps they had one in Akihabara. Or Kyoto. He was just ready shadow travel when a glowing sign of red and yellow caught his eyes. Fast as a lightning (HAHA), he retreated back to the light and approached the sign. He was sorely disappointed when it said Majiba and not McDonald.

His stomach whined viciously. The smell from the place was not comparable to McDonald, but he'd have to yield this once. He was not even sure he could shadow travel without dropping dead when he reached his destination. Or worse, ended up in China again. Hades, those Chinese were vicious. What went wrong with Frank? Mars did.

He checked his wallet to make sure he had Japan's currency in his collection before stepping inside. It was evening and it was not packed. Soft music played in the air and the smell was nice. For the first time since he had his first McDonald, he approved.

He approached the counter that looked empty at the moment before he bumped into thin air.

Repeat: he bumped into thin air.

His first reaction was reaching for his Stygian sword, before he realized that he did not in fact bumped into thin air. It was a boy, with hair of absurd color (dye, he had heard of that and wasn't there a girl with blue streaks from the camp?) and electric blue eyes that reminded him of Thalia and Jason's.

"Where the Hades did you come from?" He muttered. The boy turned and dammit, he was not gay and it was cool to admit that he was cute. No homo.

He belatedly realized that he did not know a single Japanese word and this boy probably understood 'okay', 'yes' and 'no' only. The boy then took out a pen out of nowhere and wrote something on his palm. He showed him his palm.

_I've been standing here for fifteen minutes and they haven't notice me. Can I ask for your help and order me a vanilla shake? I'll pay._

He spared the boy a look of disbelief before he grunted. Might as well help a strange boy who was not noticed by anyone. If this boy was a spirit, he could probably send him off without him noticing. For now, he would honor his wish and let him taste vanilla shake for the last time.

It took only two minutes for their order to be ready. He handed the boy his shake. He made his way outside without waiting for the promised payment. The boy fell into steps beside him, a very slight frown on his healthy pale skin. Compared to the boy, he looked sickly.

A yellow post-it note made was tapped softly to his arm. He took it and read it.

_Why are you walking away? I haven't say thank you properly. Thank you._

Attached to the note was a wad of cash. He snorted and shoved the note and money back to the kid.

"Just accept it. By the way, this is going to sound weird but are you a ghost?"

Instead of being offended like he half expected, the boy smiled. Another note was attached to his arm.

_People asked me that a lot. Most of them would assume so without asking, though. If you don't want to accept the money, is there anything I can do for you?_

Gods, Japanese were so polite. It was almost as annoying as the Chinese–for a completely different reason. He blurted out the first thing he needed.

"I need a place to stay for the night."

He almost regretted it the instant the boy attached another note to his arm.

_You can stay at my place. My parents are away._

He was tempted to point out that in America, that's what horny teenagers suggest to their partners. But he did not want to creep him out and he really needed a nice place to stay. Hopefully, there would be bed. But even a couch would do at the moment.

Turned out, there was no couch. He was offered a queen-sized bed and he almost hugged the boy out of sheer joy.

They had dinner together, which was a weird experience for him since the last person sat down with him properly for a meal was Bianca. He talked and the boy gave him small notes. So far, he knew his name was Tetsuya Kuroko. He lived with his parents and grandmother. His parents were away for some kind of business and his grandmother was admitted to the hospital last week. He was a first year in high school and would enter the second year pretty soon (he had ogled Kuroko for a few seconds because he looked about his age when he was actually around Percy's).

"Aren't you worried about letting a stranger into your house while you're alone?"

Kuroko smiled and answered.

_We won't be strangers anymore if you tell me your name._

Right. He had forgotten. He quickly fixed that. "I'm Nico di Angelo. I'm Italian." It was a depressing thought when he realized because he prided himself for being a person that came from the country that created McDonald.

Kuroko nodded and discarded his cup to the trash bin. Nico held himself from asking if that was his dinner. Kuroko lent him his spare pajamas. He considered saying 'no' but Kuroko gave him this look that he had to concede defeat. When he got out of the uncomfortably comfortable bath, his clothes were gone and Kuroko told him he had washed them for him. He could wear them again in the morning. Then, he found out the reason why Kuroko insisted for him to wash up.

_You smelled as if you haven't taken a bath for days._

Well, forgive a guy for worrying about his lost friend that he forgot to take a dip.

It was still early and Kuroko asked him if he wanted to watch a movie. Nico found a copy of The Hunger Games from the boy's collection and soon, they were sprawled comfortably on the sofa as they watched Katniss twirled her fiery dress.

"Hades, I've heard this movie was epic but they didn't say anything to justify it. Why haven't I watched this sooner?"

Kuroko laughed silently and Nico couldn't resist the offer to watch Catching Fire.

It was even more intense than the first one and Nico was very tempted to read the books when Kuroko told him of the differences between the movies and the books. For example, Peeta's leg. His dyslexia would probably murder him, though. But he could always raise a dead librarian and have they read it to him. Yeah, sounds like a plan.

In the morning, Nico wallowed in self-hatred when he realized that not a single thought of Percy's safety crossed his mind the whole night he spent watching movies with Kuroko. He left before Kuroko woke up. He grabbed Kuroko's post-it note and wrote a simple thank you after he washed his face and changed into his black clothes.

He wouldn't return again. Not for a smile, not for a simple company, not for a chance to watch epic movies and certainly not for a cute boy.

A few days later, Nico di Angelo found himself standing in front of a modest house and he would give up his jacket to kick himself. Before he could scram and left forever this time, the door was opened and Kuroko stood there for a few seconds before he smiled and opened the gate for him.

Really, hadn't the boy heard of stranger danger?

Well, it's not like they were strangers anymore.

Shut up, brain.

Like the last time, they spent time watching movies. The last time they went with Nico's choices, this time Kuroko insisted on The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Fault in Our Stars and The Three Musketeers. The first and last ones made him feel so guilty he almost called it quit but the thought of leaving Kuroko to watch alone hit him so hard.

(It wasn't his fault Logan Lerman looked a lot like Percy and that Charlie probably went through the same thing Percy did and d'Artagnan looked like an intense and _okay fuck you Aphrodite Venus whatever_ hotter version of Percy freaking Jackson.)

_Are you okay? You don't look good._

"I'm fine." Nico grunted. "Where are your parents, by the way?"

_Away._

Just like last time.

They scavenged through the kitchen and came back with ice cream, chips and waffles as their war spoil. Nico was aware he was cutting off his sleeping time by doing this but by Hades, he needed something relaxing to do or his brain would explode for worrying about a certain son of Poseidon.

Kuroko simply made him forget by showing him his entire collection of the Harry Potter saga.

The last and sixth time he visited Kuroko was before he went off to search for the Doors of Death.

Meeting Percy again and pretending to be a stranger reminded him of all the times he spent wallowing in self-hatred and pity. And a certain Japanese boy invaded his mind quite abruptly the moment he saw Percy that he panicked.

He had barely given Percy a thought every time he was with Kuroko. And every time the spell was broken he was left desperate to find his first crush. At this point, he was pretty sure he had moved on from Percy and Kuroko was his new dream (blame Kuroko–he thought having a marathon of the Big Four was a great idea and his argument is invalid because Pitch is the coolest villain ever).

When he was trapped in that jar and forced himself into a death trance, he dreamed of both Kuroko and Percy and it made him confused but also relieved because this was the closest he ever got to forget Percy. After he was saved and Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus instead, he desperately yearned to see Kuroko because he would never judge him and he was kind and he smelled nice. Expectedly, he spent his time trying to keep them alive to reach the House of Hades instead of returning to Kuroko's side.

The encounter with Eros/Cupid/whatever forced him to admit that he really was not over Percy fucking Jackson. Jason probably knew as well and it made him want to crawl into a hole. When they were back on the Argo II, he almost shadow traveled to Tokyo and see Kuroko because he admitted that yeah, Kuroko was cute and Percy was cute but Kuroko was single and Percy was not.

Being with Kuroko made him forget all of the mess in his life. He did not know why, but he knew he needed Kuroko by his side. He did not want to be that boy who followed the son of Poseidon around like a puppy begging for attention anymore. It was time to give up. He only needed a boy with blue sky eyes and quiet smiles and cute post-it notes.

The first chance he got to escape Reyna, he shadow traveled to Tokyo, straight into Kuroko's room and he was greeted with the sight of him sleeping peacefully. It was three in the morning in Japan. Nico never wanted to be a creepy sparkly vampire, but he could not help himself from watching Kuroko's rhythmic breathing and he looked really peaceful that Nico invited himself to sleep beside him.

When he woke up, he was in desperate need of air.

Kuroko released him from the hug and shoved a note into his face.

_WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?_

Boy, sounds like he was in for a lecture. Except, Kuroko could not really lecture him effectively. So, he leaned over and kissed the lips he had dreamed of for months instead. He expected Kuroko to push him away, to finally say something, even in Japanese. He did not expect Kuroko to push back almost desperately.

They spent the next half an hour kissing each other experimentally without words. Nico was new to this and most of the times Kuroko knew what he was doing that a sliver of doubt made its way to his heart. But that was forgotten every time Kuroko made sounds that were twenty different levels of obscene.

Dammit, he was gay. Cupid was right all along.

"I'll come back." He knew promises were hard to keep when you were a demigod, but he had to try so he would remember that he had somewhere to return to when the war really breaks out.

"I swear on the River Styx that I'll come back for you. If I die, I'll come to you as a ghost and I'll tell you everything. Father would grant you Elysium if I beg hard enough and I hope that I'll get Elysium as well and we'll have a cute little spot there like Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf do and spend eternity in each other's company. That is, if you want to be with me."

Kuroko kissed him once before writing something on his yellow post-it note and slapped it to Nico's arm hard enough that the son of Hades hissed. He read it and struggled to keep himself together.

_You are babbling about dying and ghost and Eli-whatever. I don't care how weird you are, I want to be with you. And don't you die on me, Nico di Angelo. You won't like me as an angry boyfriend._

"Boyfriend?" Hey, it was a legit question.

Kuroko punched him in the guts before kissing him.

Yeah, no homo, but Tetsuya Kuroko was cute and he was in love. Your argument is therefore invalid.

_By the way, have you been working out?_

* * *

><p>End.<p>

**A/N**: Blood of Olympus comes out on my birthday now tell me that isn't the perfect present. I'll continue this. Hell, I wrote the part where the Seven found out about Kuroko (in a roundabout way) and it involved a cuddle-deprived Nico and angry overprotective former and current basketball partners. You guess that who. Make your own guesses as to why Kuroko doesn't talk. Oh, it's not an AU. His reason has something to do with Nico. Any books and movies mentioned in here are not mine.

* * *

><p>Percy Jackson and the Olympians © Rick Riordan<p>

Heroes of Olympus © Rick Riordan

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his chest and for the first time in years, Nico di Angelo truly felt contented.

Reyna had been bummed by his refusal to move to New Rome. They talked about it and she accepted his decision after a few threats to keep in touch. He sent her off with a heartfelt goodbye and feelings that he had when he saw Bianca off all those years ago. Except, this time he was more than certain that he would see her again. Together with Hazel. He had the coolest sisters ever. Both half and honorary.

Will Solace pretty much dragged him to the infirmary after he said his goodbyes. Then, the son of Apollo fed him the godly food and drink. He didn't need it but he supposed to put peace into the guy's mind, he'd have to comply. It felt unreal; him, lying on the bed while Will navigated back and forth from his work station to the other beds. He had found a friend in Will Solace, and he couldn't say thank you enough to Lord Apollo, who had every reason to go against it after what Hades did to his previous Oracle.

He still couldn't stop thinking about Octavian and his own words that were half of the reason the traitor was now hailed as a hero. It was like Luke Castellan all over again. But Luke had been a real hero. Octavian was a fraud that Apollo would soon set straight. Hazel told him that Apollo had not even acknowledged the guy as a human.

The others visited. Rather than feeling actual concern, they were too busy being amused that there was finally somebody who could reel the son of Hades in. Percy's words. That guy had a way with sea-related metaphors. Speaking of Percy, he still could not wrap the fact that not too long ago, Nico had harbored the biggest crush on him. Every now and then, he stared at Nico as if he could not figure out how that was even possible.

(Annabeth had pulled him aside and told him that Percy had been convinced for a long time that it was actually Annabeth Nico was crushing on. Nico had rolled his eyes and was partly glad that his crush over the dense son of Poseidon was gone. Only Annabeth could put up with that level of obliviousness.)

It was Jason who changed the most physically (after Frank). The glasses turned his jock look to a stern scholar. Percy looked mildly disturbed that one of the only two guys that could hold their own against him in a serious battle now could pass as his girlfriend's brother. Piper cheerfully reminded him that there was still that unfinished battle between them and Jason would gladly take him on anytime. Chiron had put his hooves down and actively forbid it. A full-out battle between the children of the Big Three could decimate the whole camp to ground. Not anything they needed after a war against the Earth Goddess herself.

Nico's three days was almost up and he had contemplated whether or not he should share his biggest secret with Will or not. What Reyna told him before she left brought a smile to his face.

'_McLean told me it's probably a mortal. Not a demigod.'_

For him, it already came true. He knew that right now there's a boy in Japan waiting for him patiently. Hadn't it for Will and his smothering, Nico would have shadow-traveled to Japan the moment the Romans left. The fact that he didn't want to turn up looking ready to drop dead was another reason. That would cause unneeded panic.

Will entered the infirmary and stopped beside his bed. "Good morning, di Angelo. How are you today?"

"You sound like a real doctor. Stop it." Nico muttered. He sat up and put his feet down to the floor. He'd made his decision.

"Next time, you will listen to your doctor's order about no shadow-travelling until he gives the clearance. Understand?"

Nico rolled his eyes but there's a faint smirk on his face. "Stuff it, Solace."

"Gods, you've gotten ruder." Will said, wrinkling his nose. The son of Apollo sat down on his unofficial doctor chair and started tidying up his table that was littered with vials and boxes.

"Hey," Nico said slowly. "You heard what I said to Percy a few days ago, right?"

Will nodded without looking up.

"Are you okay with it?" He asked. He just had to.

Will looked at him like, _are you for real?_ "I don't know if you know the myths about my dad, but all the kids in my cabin are bi. It's something we inherited for him."

Oh, Nico knew one of the myths well enough.

He licked his lips and replied. "There's something about Hyacinthus?"

"Yeah," Will shrugged. "It's a nasty story. Dad fancied this one mortal and a wind god also had his eyes on the guy. In the end, the mortal died because of the god's jealousy and dad turned him into the flower, hyacinth. I think you also know about Zeus's immortal lover and cup-bearer, Ganymede."

Nico nodded his mind wheeling. Compared to the gods, he actually had a tamer love life. Apollo had the nastiest ones. For a second, he wondered how the god stayed upbeat after everything he went through. It couldn't possibly be a mask. His children inherited his sunny disposition. No pun intended.

"We-I mean Jason and I-actually ran into Favonius, the wind god in that story. After he accidentally killed Hyacinthus, Cupid took him under his wing to protect him from Apollo's wrath. Cupid did it because Favonius acted in the name of love. That's how Jason found out. He's been encouraging me to tell someone after that." Nico said.

Will grinned. "And that person being the very guy you had the biggest crush on."

"Shut up." Nico could feel his cheeks warming.

"Is there actually a point to this talk or do I have to hug and ensure you that nobody minds you like guys?" Will asked.

Nico thought about it a little longer. There was no evil Earth Mother lurking around. The world was at peace (hopefully) and well, Nico just wanted to be happy for once after a long time.

"I'm seeing someone right now. And I think you get the privilege to be the first to know and meet him." He said carefully.

He had considered Jason, Hazel, and even Percy. But thinking about it, Will had the biggest dibs among everyone else. It just felt right that Will to be the first to know. The rest could come later. Jason and Hazel might be upset but he'd deal with them when they cross the bridge.

In a flash, Will was in front of him with wide curious eyes. "Really? Who? Is it somebody from the camp? Or is he a Roman?"

"None of the above." Gods, Nico felt like giggling. This happiness bursting inside him just felt incredible.

Will wiggled his eyebrow suggestively. It was a horrible and comical expression that Nico actually laughed.

"He's not even American. He's Japanese. I met him a few months ago when I ran an errand for my dad in Japan." He said with a smile.

Will straightened up. "He's a mortal, then?" He asked.

Nico nodded and stood up. "Come. Let's go to my cabin. I'll introduce you there."

The morning was slow. There were few campers who were already up and heading towards the pavilion. Will looked a bit skeptical to step a foot into Hades's cabin. Nico's rants about the horrible decoration were actually getting to him. Nico led him inside and went straight to the bathroom. He washed his face on the sink. He wanted to look at least acceptable. He wiped his face with a towel and motioned for Will to enter.

He opened the faucet, hot water streaming out energetically. Nico grabbed one of the many drachmas lying around and waited until the mist created rainbow under the morning sunlight.

"O goddess, accept my offering." He threw the drachma into the mist. "Kuroko Tetsuya, Tokyo, Japan."

For a second nothing happened. Then, Nico and Will were looking at…two guys leaning over each other. The smaller one was somebody he was very familiar with and had been aching to see. His back was turned to them. The other was a redhead with fierce face and he was leaning in so close they could have been kissing.

"Tetsuya?" Nico asked, dumbfounded. No, it can't be happening. He just robbed Nico's first kiss almost two weeks ago with skills that left him breathless. Did that all came from his experience with this guy?

Tetsuya turned, eyes bulging out comically when he saw them. The redhead looked up and he looked confused at best. In the background, Nico saw a bare wall. There was a kitchen counter to the right and a door to the left.

"Who…where are you?" He asked. His heart thudded against his ribcage and it felt as if all of his wounds had come back. Only ten times stronger.

Tetsuya fumbled with all the scattered paper around them. He picked up a notebook and wrote his reply.

_I'm having a study session with Kagami-kun. Nico, what's this?_

Kagami-kun. That name never came up in any of their conversation. Though, to be fair, Tetsuya never spoke about anyone. He was also pretty sure no study session required the participants to look into each other's eyes deeply.

"It's an Iris Message. It's a device that uh…our family uses to communicate, since phones and other modern devices are off-limit to us. H-how are you?"

This was not how it supposed to go. Will was throwing him looks that said, _Are you going to explain that?_

Tetsuya smiled, and his heart melted instantly. He scribbled on his notebook and brought it up so Nico could read what he'd written. _I'm fine. How are __**you**__? We need to talk, by the way. You have a lot of explanation to do._

Gods, he loved this boy. "I'm okay. A bit banged up but Solace did a great job fixing me up. I think he overdid it, though. I was planning to talk to you soon, too."

Will rolled his eyes and pushed him aside so Tetsuya could see him. "Hi, I'm this guy's friend. Will Solace, at your service."

_Nice to meet you, Nico's friend._ Tetsuya replied with a small smile. Then, he pulled the redhead behind him forward and gave the stranger a look that Nico could not really understand. But the redhead seemed to be well-versed in reading Tetsuya's expression because he scowled and turned to them.

"I'm Taiga Kagami." He said in surprisingly smooth English. "I don't know what Kuroko's deal is but may I know who you are to him actually?"

"Boyfriend." Nico blurted out before he could stop it. Will stared at him but Nico pushed him and looked at Kagami with a glare. He didn't like this guy. He talked like they were strangers that did not have the right to be in Tetsuya's life. "I'm Tetsuya's boyfriend. Nico di Angelo. And who are you?"

Kagami looked at him with a startled look. "I'm his friend. We're classmates and teammates in basketball. Putting aside how weird this situation is, how did you two hook up anyway, assuming you're all the way in US?"

Tetsuya pushed him aside and showed them his notebook.

_He's my best friend. And don't answer his question. I'll tell him when I see it fit to. And Nico, when are you visiting?_

Nico pushed aside his jealousy and replied calmly. "Tomorrow morning, Japan's time. Do you have classes tomorrow?"

"It's summer break here." Kagami answered from the background. "There's that plan to play street basketball with Aomine but you can have him tomorrow. I want to see that idiot's face when Kuroko ditch him."

Another foreign name: Aomine. He'd have to ask Tetsuya later.

"Right." Nico said uncomfortably. "I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Uh, good night."

_I miss you._

Nico smiled. "I miss you too." His voice cracked. "I want you to meet my friends. There's so much I want to tell you."

_That'd be wonderful. I love you._

"Love you too."

Nico waved the mist away. His eyes were locked with Tetsuya's until the image faded completely. He turned to Will.

"Sorry, that didn't go well." Nico said.

"It's okay." Will shrugged. "There's another time. You're bringing him to the camp?"

"Yeah. I figured he can see through the Mist a few weeks ago. I'm going to be away tonight to visit him. Don't expect me until tomorrow. And I'll be sleeping in my cabin when I return. Tell the others not to freak out if they can't find me. Especially Jason."

"Is it okay if I actually tell the others?" They made their way out of the bathroom. Nico walked him to the porch.

"It's alright." Nico said. "They'll be pestering me endlessly, though."

Will grinned, as bright as the sun. "That's what annoying family members do."

When Nico said it was alright to tell their friends, he didn't actually mean so soon. He'd just sit down for lunch when Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Will sat down on his table with their lunch with an awkward look for Percy. Annabeth and Piper were smiling. Jason looked absolutely ecstatic. He would never understand the guy. And Will was trying to hide his smile unsuccessfully, needless to say.

"Will told us." Annabeth said. "When are you going to bring him here?"

"I haven't even told him about this demigod deal. He just knows that I can shadow-travel and that apparently Iris Message exists. He's going to need to adjust." Nico said, mildly irritated but happy that they were at least interested.

"He's Japanese?" Jason asked. "And Solace told us something interesting about the way he communicates."

Nico felt blush creeping onto his cheeks. "It's a quirk of his. I actually think he can talk, but chose not to."

"We must meet this mysterious boy who doesn't talk that you dumped me for." Percy said, looking serious and determined.

Nico choked. "Percy, I didn't dump you. We never dated. And I told you you're not my type."

"Same difference." Percy shrugged. "How did you two meet?"

"Dad sent me to Japan to deal with some loose monsters." Thinking back, Hades wouldn't have sent him an urgent message for something so insignificant, what with Olympus being closed. But his father risked Zeus's wrath and demanded for him to deal with it personally. "I treated him vanilla shake and he insisted to pay it back. I needed a place to stay and he offered. We became friends. I figured that I uh, kinda sort of like him so I visited him before searching for the Door of Death. And while transporting the Athena Parthenos statue, I sneaked out for a while to drop by and we ended up being boyfriends."

Gods, that had taken almost everything out of him. His cheeks were on flame and it didn't seem like it would die down in a few hours.

"That's cute." Piper smiled. "How old is he?"

"He turned sixteen last winter."

"He's two years older than you?" Will asked. "I thought he's about your age, or even younger."

"Japanese are weird." Nico decided. "Have you seen Kagami?"

That earned him a grin from the son of Apollo. "He doesn't look like a highschooler."

"Wait, who's Kagami?" Jason looked at him then at Will.

"Tetsuya's classmate, teammate and annoying best friend." He's still not over that scene he and Will saw. Will caught the annoyance in his tone and snickered.

"Finally, a name!" Percy whooped. "So his name's Tetsuya and he has a best friend that doesn't look like a highschooler. I'm very interested to meet him."

"Percy, drop it." Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

That very afternoon, he received an IM from Hazel and Reyna. Both of them looked decidedly upset.

"Hi." He offered.

"You could've told me." Yep, Hazel was upset. He saw Frank in the background and the Praetor was crossing his buffy arms, a displeased frown directed at poor old Nico for making his girlfriend upset.

"It just never came up." He said. "And we were in the middle of war. It's not really the time to-"

"Do you have any idea how upset he would be if you never came back?" Reyna growled. "Have you ever thought even for a moment how he would feel waiting every day, not knowing if you'll ever come back or not? Just because nobody know about him and couldn't tell him? Have you ever thought about that, di Angelo?"

"I took precaution. I told him that I'd come back to him even as a ghost." Nico said.

Reyna shook her head. "I thought I'd had you figured out. But I still can't see your logic."

Nico's eyes softened. "I think he knew the risk. I swore on River Styx that I'd return to his side, so if I had died, I would have somehow find a way to get in touch."

"You're impossible, di Angelo." Reyna started smiling. "So when do we get to meet this guy?"

"In a few days." Nico decided. "I'm going to be over at his place tonight. I'll return the next morning."

"You are going to introduce us." Hazel said sternly. "We had time to talk before I returned to Camp Jupiter but you didn't say anything."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Hazel smiled slowly and gods, she looked amazing. "Just, talk to us next time, okay? Stop bottling everything up. We're here for you."

"I know."

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><p>End.<p>

**A/N**: Do you understand my immense annoyance with Uncle Rick right now? After he emotionally broke me he just had to leave a cliffhanger. I didn't bring Leo up because it's too sensitive. I spent half an hour crying and trying to put myself back together after he said 'I love you guys' before starting and breaking down again throughout the last few chapters. The last chapter was a mix of laughter and crying. It's an ugly sight. There's a surprise on the next chapter.

And for the record, I think Solangelo is canon. That's not an observation made by a shipper. It's just obvious.

P/S: I'm three chapters ahead of this story. I am so proud of myself. What do you think if I say this story won't have a happy ending?

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><p>Percy Jackson and the Olympians © Rick Riordan<p>

Heroes of Olympus © Rick Riordan

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


	3. Chapter 3

Nico di Angelo was never prepared for this.

He had left after dinner and campfire. Jason and Will managed to catch him before he left and wished him a good time and some things Nico tuned out after a while. After letting the two talked long enough before Chiron become suspicious, he had politely excused himself to go back to his cabin. As he was used to not having people around Tetsuya's house whenever he visited, he shadow traveled straight into the living room. Tetsuya was there as expected, but the two adults in front of him were unfamiliar.

In some way, they _were_ familiar. The woman had Tetsuya's pale skin and dyed hair. The man was tall and muscled. Black hair fell over blank face. They hadn't notice him.

To his surprise, Tetsuya opened his mouth and said something in Japanese with clipped tone.

The woman turned red in the face and the man closed his eyes with a loud sigh. The woman raised her voice while talking and by the look on Tetsuya's face, it was not an invitation for tea.

The black haired man raised a hand to shut the woman up. She complied with a huff and her manicured fingers tightened around a small handbag.

"Tetsuya," the man said, "You are almost seventeen. Act like one. Why can't you be like Seijuurou?"

Apparently it was a sensitive topic to breach because Tetsuya seemed to retreat into his shell more and replied in low voice. Nico did not have time to digest the fact that the man had spoken in English because Tetsuya saw him and his eyes widened. He waved slightly and mouthed 'Hi'.

Tetsuya turned to the adults and said something that sounded like a dismissal. Nico waited in the shadow until the front door was closed. Tetsuya immediately rounded on him and crushed him with a hug.

"Nico…" He breathed. Something inside Nico fluttered at his voice saying his name.

They pulled away and Nico was as smug as ever by the fact that he was a good few inches taller than Tetsuya. It felt like a small achievement, considering everything they'd done together so far made Nico feel like an amateur.

"You can talk all this time? And you never said anything?" He teased.

Tetsuya bit his lips and opened his mouth to say something. But he didn't and pulled out his yellow post-it note instead.

_This is embarrassing and I'm not comfortable with speaking in English. My father, as you saw just now, is perfectly comfortable with it as it's a part of his job. My mother is too, as a matter of fact._

"Those were your parents?" Nico asked, confused. "They seemed like distant relatives by the way you talked."

"We never had the best relationship," Tetsuya said. Nico's eyes widened and he must have a dumb look on his face because Tetsuya cracked a small smile.

"I wasn't eager to test my English against someone who speaks it daily. Kagami-kun helped a lot but there's a limit to it."

Kagami, again. That guy was grating on his nerves even when he's not here.

Nico coughed. "So," he started, "I know it's none of my business but what happened back there? You didn't seem happy to see them."

"I am happy." Tetsuya led him to the kitchen. "It's just…they're too demanding and never takes time to ask me what I want. All my life, I have to live up to their expectation. My mother has this idea in her head that I'm supposed to be her perfect little boy and my father always compares me with my cousin."

There's something missing there. It didn't add up. "They don't live here, do they?"

Tetsuya stiffened before nodding. "This house is something like an escape. It's my grandmother's house and I've lived here since I was fourteen. My parents came because they want me to return to the mansion. He said something about the devil has come back to collect an old debt. I'm guessing that has something to do with you and whoever your father is?"

"How- what are you talking about?" Nico gaped.

"I did my research after you left." Tetsuya poured orange juice into two tall glasses. "I noticed that you mention Hades a lot and you said something about Elysium and begging your father to let me in. Which brings me to the most important point, are you going to explain everything now?"

He put the glass in front of Nico and sat across him on the table. Nico's throat felt dry. The devil had come back to collect an old debt? Suddenly, his father's order to come to Japan did not seem like a light errand anymore. There's more to this than what Hades told him.

Nico started talking about his heritage, about the gods, the demigods, and Tetsuya did not interrupt even once. When he finished, Tetsuya nodded and asked him if he wanted a second glass.

"What else did your father say?" Nico asked.

"My father has always been eccentric." Tetsuya shrugged. "As a child, I never left the ground of our house on my own. When I made my first friend, he did something to his family and they moved all the way across the country because of that. He's paranoid over many things. When he married my mother, he made her swore an oath, on River Styx," Tetsuya glanced up meaningfully, "to never talk about whatever it is that made the Kurokos to be this way."

"This way?" Nico frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Invisible. I am practically invisible to the public eyes. My father used to be this way before I was born and he passed it down to me. He said that we are something like shadows. We're there, but overlooked and deemed unimportant."

"I don't understand."

Tetsuya sighed. "Remember the first time we met? How the lady on the counter did not notice me? That happens a lot. Do you know why nobody bothered to visit? Because the neighborhood thought this house is haunted. I've been called ghost far too many times."

Shadow. Ghost. His head hurt. Everything seemed to point back to the underworld-y stuffs. Hades must've known something. He did not send him here for monsters that one of his men could have handled easily. He had meant for Nico to meet Tetsuya and there's an old debt to be paid.

"This is too much," he said, head hitting the table.

Tetsuya smiled thinly. "That makes the two of us. I knew there was something unusual about you but a god as a father? I did not see that coming. But enough about that. Tell me about this war against the Mother Earth."

They moved back to the living room and Tetsuya had a plate of eggs, bacon and sausages with him for breakfast. He told him about the Doors of Death, his time in the jar, and the delivering of the Athena Parthenos. He hesitated on the topic of Tartarus but Tetsuya encouraged him.

"It's dark. As a child of Hades, I saw everything. I saw the true face of the god, Tartarus. I did not know how many days I stayed there but I was close to insanity when I resurfaced. There was a horde of monsters waiting for me. I almost didn't stand a chance."

Tetsuya kissed him softly to comfort him. Nico's hold around him tightened and he pressed deeper into the kiss. He pulled back and noticed for the first time that Tetsuya's eyes were genuinely blue.

"Have your eyes always been blue?" He blurted out.

"Father has European blood in him from my grandmother. That's one of the few things I inherited from him."

"What about your hair?"

He pulled back and frowned. "What about my hair?"

"Dude, it's _blue_."

Tetsuya looked confused for a moment before he gasped and laughed softly. Nico looked at him confusedly.

"Oh, mother's trick doesn't work on you. Does it not work on the other demigods as well?"

"Trick? Your mom did something to your hair?"

"To other people," Tetsuya said with a smile. "Our hair appears to be black. But I've heard people complimented her light brown hair several times but most of the time it's black. It's weird to have blue hair and mother always hides her hair with some kind of charm."

"Charm? Is she a child of Hecate?" Nico asked.

"I don't know who that is. I've never met my grandmother from my mother's side." Tetsuya said.

It was the only logical explanation. Questions kept forming in his head every time he learned something new about his boyfriend.

"Would you like to meet my friends?" Tetsuya asked as he stood up. Nico blinked up at him.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Tetsuya smiled and pecked his lips. He picked up his plate and walked away to the kitchen.

"Since you're introducing me to your friends, it's only fair that you meet mine as well. And please leave your bomber jacket. It's summer. People would look at you weirdly."

Nico looked at where he had discarded his new bomber jacket. He wasn't very fond of showing his skin, but if it's hot out there, he certainly didn't want to have a heat stroke while he was supposed to spend the day with his boyfriend.

They left the house sometime after noon. They had ordered takeout for lunch since none of them could cook. Tetsuya made him wear a white plain shirt instead of his black one. Luckily, he agreed to let Nico keep his pants. White was enough color for him. They rode a bus to the middle of the city, where Tetsuya had planned to meet up with Kagami before Nico came barging in and take him instead. He could not help but to smile at that.

"We have two weeks break from practice. Coach decided not to go all demonic on us and focus on the first year instead. Kagami-kun and I do our regular workout every day here. Sometimes, Aomine-kun and the others join us." Tetsuya told him as they walked to the court. Not long after they met, Tetsuya had entered his second year of high school.

They saw the court a few seconds later. Nico narrowed his eyes under the sunlight and saw two figures playing under a hoop. A third figure was sitting on the sidelines, cheering them on. Tetsuya made a sound and Nico turned to him. His boyfriend was smiling excitedly. Tetsuya grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to the court. The sound of the fence door opening caught the attention of the three.

"Nico di Angelo?" Kagami said, incredulous.

Nico raised his eyebrow and waved a little. The one who'd been playing with Kagami was a tanned guy with dark hair. The one on the sideline had a mop of orange hair and brown eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Kagami asked.

"Tetsuya-" Nico turned to his side and…Tetsuya had disappeared. He turned to Kagami with wide eyes.

"He was here! I swear!"

Instead of ridiculing him, Kagami groaned as if this was a common thing. Then…

"Kagami-kun."

Kagami jumped as if he had been electrocuted by Jason. He turned around with a scowl and Tetsuya only stared at him innocently. The dark skinned guy laughed and put a sweaty arm around Tetsuya's shoulders. The strawberry blond jumped to his feet and offered his fist to Tetsuya with a grin. Surrounded by the three, Nico realized how short his boyfriend was compared to them.

They were all talking animatedly. Nico immediately felt awkward, but Tetsuya turned to him and approached him.

"Nico, these are my best friends." He pulled him to the three. "You already met Kagami-kun. These two are Daiki Aomine-kun and Shigehiro Ogiwara-kun."

The two stared at him. Aomine, the dark haired one, frowned. Ogiwara grinned and said something in Japanese.

"Ogiwara-kun said 'nice to meet you,'" Tetsuya said before switching to his native language. Nico watched uncomfortably when Aomine's eyes grew wide and started glaring at him. Ogiwara gaped for a second before clapping and laughing. It was a bizarre reaction that Nico had no idea what they were talking about.

"He told them you're his boyfriend," Kagami said in whisper.

Nico frowned. "Is Aomine homophobic or something?"

"Dude, no." Kagami snickered. "He's something like Kuroko's ex, you see. They had a fight and it lasted for a year. Aomine recently realized what an asshole he'd been and wanted to get back with Kuroko."

Which meant: Nico was his number one enemy. Nico was no pushover. He'd commanded the dead for years. He had a zombie butler for birthday present. He had a sword hidden in the shadow, ready to be pulled out any second. His father was Hades. He could fight against Percy Jackson and still had a chance of winning.

Against Tetsuya Kuroko's ex? He had many things to be worried about. For one, he's not as well-built. And he knew that Tetsuya was a basketball idiot but he could barely remember all the rules, let alone playing. And he'd known Tetsuya far longer than Nico had. And Aomine was Japanese.

(His only consolation was that Tetsuya was somehow connected to his father and Nico was better looking than Aomine. Observation made by a neutral party, of course.)

Aomine and Ogiwara started playing with Tetsuya. Kagami sat him down on the sideline was they watched the three played.

"Aomine has known Kuroko for four years." Kagami started talking. Nico frowned but he let him continued. "They were teammates and partners during middle school. They were the best. They won national tournament for three years straight before they moved on to high school."

Kagami laughed at Nico's face.

"They attend different high schools now, if it makes you feel better. Like I said, they've just reconciled recently and they're still awkward around each other because you can't just go 'hey, sorry I messed up your life and fucked up everything you've ever loved but I've changed now so friends?'"

Nico frowned and turned to the court. There was a story behind that, he was sure. Kagami could not hide his anger well. Nico saw right through him. He wanted to ask, but couldn't.

"What about Ogiwara?"

"Ogiwara's okay. He's Kuroko's childhood friend and I'm sure Kuroko told you what his family did to Ogiwara's family." Kagami's lips curled in distaste. "His dad's a total psycho, you know. I've never met him but Kuroko told me how his life was before he moved out of the mansion. He had bodyguards wherever he went. Their house is full of MIB."

He remembered what Tetsuya told him about his father wanting him to return. What he said about an old debt and the devil had come to pick it up. That his father was a paranoid man, and he'd made his wife to swear on River Styx to keep the secret of the Kurokos. About shadows and ghosts.

A talk with Hades, the Lord of the Underworld was in order.

Two hours later, they were heading to a nearby park to have ice-cream. Tetsuya insisted to get their ice-cream and left, followed by Aomine and Ogiwara who knew how much time it would take for Tetsuya to go alone. Nico and Kagami sat down on a bleacher to wait for the three. Nico wanted to go with Tetsuya, but he didn't want to be a bother and leave Kagami alone. Three was a crowd, anyway. Four was much worse.

"You still haven't told me how you hook up with Kuroko, by the way. Do you live around here?" Kagami asked.

Nico hesitated for a second. "Not exactly. I visit Tetsuya a lot, though. I met him a few months ago trying to order a vanilla shake. They didn't notice him so I ended up ordering and paying for him. Then, he insisted to pay back for it and we bonded through mutual interests. We became friends and I confessed two weeks ago. We started dating around that time."

"Sounds simple," Kagami said. "It's just weird that he'd go for someone like you, though."

"What do you mean?" Nico felt a bit irritated. He knew he was not the most attractive guy around, but to have _Kagami_ pointing that out felt a hundred times worse.

"I'm used to him dating basketball players. When I saw you, I thought you're just…you know, a temporary kind of thing."

The next thing he knew, he was pining Kagami to the other side of the bleacher with his Stygian Iron sword on his throat. Rage roared in his ear and he took a few seconds to realize that he was practically choking Kagami with his hand. He drew back and threw his sword into the shadow. Since Kagami was a mortal, he probably thought it was a baseball bat or something. It was intimidating enough, in his opinion.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Kagami wheezed out, a hand massaging the red finger marks around his neck.

Nico almost apologized but he bit his tongue and demanded instead, "The fact that you made me sound like a fling in Tetsuya's life when I knew him for months already is what made you deserve that."

"Gods you're nuts! I didn't mean anything by it!"

"Yeah right." Nico muttered.

"Look, if you've known Kuroko for as long as I did, you'd realize that he breathes, eats and sleeps basketball." Kagami snapped, irritation lacing his gruff voice.

"That doesn't give you the right to judge me or Tetsuya," Nico said, his eyes narrowed at the other.

Kagami went red and opened his mouth to say something. But Tetsuya was back with Aomine and Ogiwara in tow. He shut his mouth and sat very stiffly. Then, in voice unheard to nobody but Nico, he told Nico what must have been in his mind since he first saw him through the Iris Message.

"You're impossible. I don't know how Kuroko can put up with you."

_I don't know how I put up with me, too._

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><p>End.<p>

**A/N**: Thought I'd post it. The next chapter will be on the 11th or 12th. And these chapters are unbeta-ed. So excuse the dumb mistakes. Also, I was just asking for opinions. Happy ending it is then. If I have enough motivation to finish this, that is.

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><p>Percy Jackson and the Olympians © Rick Riordan<p>

Heroes of Olympus © Rick Riordan

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


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